Display rack



L. H. BEST DISPLAY RACK Dec. 10, 1935.

Filed No v. 2, 1953 Patented Dec. 10, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT orrlcs DISPLAY RACK Application November 2, 1933, Serial No. 696,357

11 Claims. (01. 211-48) This invention relates to a novel and improved rack adapted to be used for the display of sheet samples of carpets, rubs, linoleum, draperies, upholstery and the like.

In the display of sheet samples it has been customary to stack them one upon the other in piles on the floor or on stands, and they have also been hung on pivoted racks to which the samples are permanently attached and which'racks may be swung in a horizontal plane so that the samples may be inspected by salesmen and prospective purchasers. When the sheet samples are placed in piles it is necessary to remove all the samples above a particular sample which the salesman wishes to display to the customer. This is inconvenient and quite often involves the disclosure of samples to the customer in which the customer is not interested or which the salesman does not wish to show for other reasons. Also, stacked samples become matted and fail to properly represent the goods. The samples which have been hung on racks pivoted to swing horizontally have usually been attached to the racks by engaging them with upstanding pins or spikes on the arms and these samples are permanently attached in the sense that they cannot be easily and bodily removed and replaced but have to be separately engaged with each of the pins or spikes which is a diificult and laborious job. These samples are always displayed in hanging position on the rack and are not intended to be removed therefrom for display on the floor under different light conditions; and no means is provided for quickly identifying particular samples without thumbing and more or less disclosing other samples on the rack.

It is the principal object of this invention to store samples in such a manner that they may be indexed and removably held in place upon a rack so that the salesman by referring to a chart or index book may determine the index number of the sample he wishes to display and immediately proceed to this sample and remove it for display on the floor or in other parts of the room where conditions, such as light effects, will enable the salesman to display the sample to the prospective purchaser more satisfactorily and to better advantage. I

Another object is to index the samples and the arms of a display rack so that the samples will always be associated with their correspondingly indexed arms and, therefore, samples removed may readily be returned to their proper arms and the classification and arrangement of the samples may be constantly maintained.

A further object is to provide the top marginal edge of the sample with a hanger bar suitably secured to the sample and adapted to be detachably engaged with the arm so that the sample may be removed from the arm in a sin- 5 gle movement for display or other purposes and be replaced on the arm in like manner and whereby the sample will always be hung evenly and without being pulled or drawn or otherwise distorted.

And a still further object of the invention is to provide a swinging arm of novel construction with which a hanger bar fastened to a sample is adapted to be readily engaged and disengaged so that a sample may be readily removed and re- 15 placed and always be hung evenly andwithout distortion.

In the accompanying drawing illustrating a. selected embodiment of the invention Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a display rack showing, for convenience of illustration, a single arm with two samples suspended therefrom.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the arm.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through the upper portion of a sample.

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a display rack showing two arms. Referring to the drawing, a hinge bar wall plate 6 and a pivot bar wall plate I are fastened one above the other to a wall or other support 8. A hinge bar 9, preferably made of angle iron, is fastened to the plate 6 and has a plurality of equally spaced openings It) in its horizontal flange. A pivot bar II, also preferably made of angle iron, is fastened to the plate 1 and has a plurality of openings l2 in vertical alignment with the openings In in the hinge bar 9.

The rack comprises a plurality of sample supporting arms which are hinged to the hinge bar 9 and pivotally supported from the pivot bar I] to swing horizontally. In the preferred construction illustrated each arm I3 is inverted U-shaped in cross section and is provided at its inner end with a hinge M. The hinge forms a part Of the arm and it has a shank l5 which projects into the arm and is fastened thereto by rivets or other suitable means, and the hinge also has a hook it which engages an opening in the hinge bar 9. A roller H for spacing the arm from its next adja- I cent arms is pivotally mounted at la in a roller guard fork H which has a shank 28 arranged within the outer end of the arm and secured thereto by rivets or other suitable means. The roller guard fork carries a vertical plate 2| which is provided on each side with a number or other index indicia and constitutes the index device of the arm. Samples hung on each side of the arm carry index indicia corresponding to the index indicia on the index plate of the arm. The samples 22 to be hung on the arm [3 are each provided with a hanger bar 23 which is fastened on the back of the sample adjacent its upper end by stitches, staples, wire loops or other suitable means 24. The hanger bar has a depending flange 23 at its upper edge and an upstanding flange 23 at its lower edge the flanges being spaced from the body of the bar and the free edges of the flanges. being spaced apart so that the bar is C-shaped in cross section. The fastening devices 24 which secure the sample to the bar extend through openings 24 in the body of the bar opposite the space between the free edges of the flanges and these fastening devices are twisted or otherwise secured within the bar so that they will not engage the arm of the display rack or the hands of the operator. A hanger 25 in the form of a yoke is arranged within the U- shapd arm and has upstanding flanges 26 spaced from the arm and adapted to receive the hanger bars 23 on the samples. This hanger is located near the outer end of the arm and an inclined brace 2'! has its lower end 28 engaged with an 7 opening l2 in the pivot bar H and its upper end 29 bent horizontally to fit within the arm l3 between the top thereof and the top of the. yoke 25. The end 29 of the brace 21 is spotwelded 'or otherwise rigidly secured to the hanger 25 and to the hanger arm [3 and the hanger 25 is pro-' vided with a stop 39 against which the end of the brace may be arranged to abut. The lower end of the brace is provided with an enlarged portion3l which acts as a bearing upon the pivot bar and the brace may be locked in the pivot bar against accidental displacement by a cotter pin 32 passing through the brace beneath the pivot Another hanger 33 is fastened to the arm l3 near the inner end thereof and this hanger is in all substantial respects the same as the hanger 25 and it is secured in the arm l3 in the same manner as the hanger 25 is secured except that it does not have a stop 30 and it nestswithin the arm at the top thereon The hangers are secured to the arm by welding or other suitable means. The hinge has a shoulder 34 and'the roller guard fork has a shoulder 35 on' each side arm until the rack is filled. The hanger bar holds the upper portion of the sample fiat and sufficiently taut to prevent it from wrinkling or sagging orotherwise distorting. The yoke hangers are secured within the inverted U-shaped hanger devices will be mostly concealed by the upper edge portions of the samples, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3. The hanger bars fit snugly in the hangers and against the supporting arm and the upper edge portions of the samples lie flat against 5 the flanges of the hangers whereby the upper edge portion of each sample will be held fiat and free from wrinkles or bulges. This hanger bar also serves as a means whereby the sample can be handled and engaged with and disengaged 10 from the hangers. It is convenient to hang the samples according to some predetermined classification and my invention enables this classification to be maintained at all times because the arms are numbered and the samples 15 are numbered to correspond with the arms so that if a number of samples are removed from the rack by the same or by different salesmen they can be easily replaced in their proper positions on the rack. The arm is of light but strong and 20 substantial construction and the parts are of simple form but are adapted to be easily assembled and form a strong and rigid rack. The rack is sturdy and capable of withstanding rough usage and. affords a merchandiser an adequate 25 and satisfactory means of displaying and storing sheet samples of merchandise so that they will be preserved in first class condition and may be disposed of without material loss.

I am aware that changes in theform, con- 30' struction and arrangement of parts may be made without departing from the spirit and without sacrificing the advantages'of the invention and I reserve the right to make all such changes as fairly fall within the scope of the following 5 claims:

I claim:

1. A display rack comprising a hinge bar, a supporting arm inverted U-shape in cross section hinged on said hinge bar, a pivot bar, a brace 40 fixed at one end to said arm and pivotally mounted at its other end on said pivot bar, and hangers spaced apart longitudinally and secured within the arm and each having a flange upstanding at one side of the arm and spaced therefrom to re- 45 ceive a hanger bar fastened to the back of a sampie to be displayed and adjacent the top edge thereof, said hanger bar being demountably supported on said hangers to hang the sample from and alongside the arm without direct engagement 5 therewith.

2. A display rack comprising a hinge bar, a supporting arm inverted U-shape in cross section hinged on said hinge bar, a pivot bar, a brace fixed at one end to said arm and pivotally mounted at its 55 other end on said pivot bar; and yoke shaped hangers spaced apart longitudinally and secured within the arm and each having upstanding flanges at both sides of the arm and spaced therefrom to receive hanger bars fastened to the back so of two sheet samples to be displayed and adjacent the top edge thereof, said hanger bars being demountably supported on said hangers and along side the arm to hang the samples in parallel relation from the top edges to the bottom edges there- 65 of without direct engagement with the arm.

3. A display rack comprising a hinge bar, a supporting arm hinged on said hinge bar, a pivot bar,

a brace fixed at one end to said arm and pivotally mounted at its other end on said pivot bar, and 70 hangers spaced apart longitudinally on the arm and each having a'flange upstanding at one side of the arm and spaced therefrom to receive a said hanger bar being demountably supported on said hangers and having a flange at its upper edge downturned on its outer side to fit between the arm and the flanges on the hangers.

4. A display rack comprising a hinge bar, a supporting arm hinged on said hinge bar, a pivot bar, a brace fixed at one end to said arm and pivotally mounted at its other end on said pivot bar, and hangers spaced apart longitudinally on the arm and each having a flange upstanding at one side of the arm and spaced therefrom to receive a hanger bar fastened to the back of a sample to be displayed and adjacent the top edge thereof, said hanger bar being demountably supported on said hangers and having flanges on its outer side downturned from its upper edge and upturned from its lower edge to fit between the arm and the flanges on the hangers.

5. A hanger bar adapted to be fastened to the back or" a sample to be displayed and adjacent the top edge thereof and having spaced openings to receive devices for securing the bar to one side of the sample, said hanger bar having oppositely disposed flanges on the outer side thereof extending from its top and bottom edges, said flanges being spaced from the body of the bar and extending substantially parallel therewith, the free edges or the flanges being spaced apart to permit access to said fastening devices to permit fastening and unfastening of said devices and being arranged close enough to each other to overlap the fastening devices to at least partially conceal said devices and prevent injury to the hands of the operator handling the hanger bar.

6. A display rack comprising a horizontally extending supporting arm, hangers on said arm, a G-shaped hanger bar demountably supported on said hangers, and means passing through the body of the bar and fastening a sample to be displayed to said bar and terminating within the bar.

7. A display rack comprising a horizontally extending supporting arm, hangers on said arm, a C-shaped hanger bar demountably supported on said hangers with the open side of said hanger bar opposed to one side of said arm, and means passing through the body of the bar and fastening a sample to be displayed to said bar and terminating within the bar.

8. A sample supporting arm for a display rack comprising an inverted U-shaped member, and at least two hangers on said member and arranged in spaced relation with each other, each of said hangers comprising a yoke nested and secured within the U-shaped member and having an upstanding flange arranged substantially parallel with and outwardly of one limb oi said member and spaced therefrom, said flange cooperating with said limb to receive a hanger bar fastened to the back of a sample to be displayed and to hold said bar and said sample in substantially upright position and facilitate removal and replacement of the bar and sample.

9. A sample supporting arm for a display rack comprising an inverted U-shaped member, at least two hangers on said member and arranged in spaced relation with each other, each of said hangers comprising a yoke nested and secured within the U-shaped member and having an upstanding flange arranged substantially parallel with and outwardly of one limb of said member and spaced therefrom, said flange cooperating with said limb to receive and retain a hanger bar fastened to the back of a sample to be displayed, and a brace for the arm having its upper end bent horizontally and secured between one of the hangers and said arm.

10. A display rack comprising a hinge bar, a supporting arm hinged on said hinge bar, said arm having hangers which are adapted to receive a hanger bar alfixed to a sample to be displayed and demountably supported on said arm, and shoulders on said arm in abutting relation to the ends of said hanger bar to prevent endwise movement of the hanger bar.

11. A display rack comprising a pivoted supporting arm, hangers secured to said arm in spaced relation with each other and having flanges spaced from a side of said arm to provide pockets to receive a hanger bar to which a sample is secured, said hanger bar being fastened flat against the back of the upper end portion of the sample and demountably seated in said pockets with the flanges of the hangers passed between the bar and the sample fast thereto to thereby support the sample flatly from the supporting arm in front of the hangers.

LEON H. BEST. 

